President Trump’s proposal that Palestinians leave Gaza to rebuild their lives following months of conflict has ignited intense debate, revealing deep divisions within Gaza and the Arab world.
During a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Trump presented his vision for Gaza’s future, referring to it as “the Riviera of the Middle East.” His suggestion to relocate 1.8 million Palestinians provoked outrage from Palestinian leaders and mixed reactions from Gazans.
While some Gazans rejected emigration, others viewed it as their only hope.
“I’m asking the President himself to relocate us as he suggested. And I’ll be the first one to go,” one young man told the Center for Peace Communications team in Gaza during a filmed interview. He described his difficult circumstances: “I want to leave because there’s no life left here. Life here is gone. I mean, just look around you.”
GAZA’S HISTORY IN LIGHT OF TRUMP’S REBUILDING PLAN
Another Gazan urged neighboring Arab nations to facilitate emigration, stating, “To our brotherly Egyptian and Jordanian people and King Abdullah—we hope they open the crossing for the youth who are leaving, for the wounded, for the sick, and the elderly who need treatment.”
King Abdullah of Jordan, who is scheduled to meet with President Trump on Tuesday, previously rejected Trump’s plan to annex Gaza and displace Palestinians, according to Reuters.
A Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey poll conducted before the October 7 attacks revealed that 31% of Gazans were already considering emigration—a figure rising to 44% among young people. The most popular destinations were Turkey, followed by Germany, Canada, the United States and Qatar.
The poll’s authors attributed the desire to emigrate to “economic, political, educational, security and concerns about corruption.”
Joseph Braude, founder and president of [Organization Name], told [Publication Name] Digital that this percentage has increased dramatically due to the ongoing devastation. “Through our daily contact with Gazans from all walks of life across the coastal strip, we have seen that proportion grow, amid the destruction of the present war, to a substantial majority of the population.”
Ayman Khaled, a Palestinian journalist, shared similar sentiments, highlighting the bleak outlook for Gaza’s reconstruction after months of bombardment. “Gaza will need to go through a very long period of reconstruction. In that long period of time, where will the youth go? Where will the wounded go? We have more than 100,000 wounded. Even before the last war, a stream of people were leaving Gaza—workers, students, business people. That’s how it looked then. Now, those trends will double. There is no hope for the reconstruction of Gaza, not in a year nor 10 nor 15.”
He also cautioned that as long as Hamas remains in power, cycles of violence will persist, driving further emigration. “If Hamas remains on the scene, this will keep happening. Every day, we’ll have new killings. After every battle, they say they are victorious—but what is this victory? If we don’t seriously address the issue of Hamas leaving the political scene, we cannot talk about anything else. If Hamas remains, people will emigrate, whether willingly or unwillingly.”
Hamas denounced Trump’s plan as a “recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region,” and for many Gazans, leaving is unacceptable. Mustafa al-Gazzar, a displaced Gazan, speaking to The Associated Press, rejected the idea of leaving. “You think you’ll expel me abroad and bring other people in my place? I would rather live in my tent, under rubble. I won’t leave. Put that in your brain.”
Amna Omar, 71, sheltering in central Gaza, expressed similar defiance. “Gaza is our land, our home. We as Gazans… I don’t want to die in Egypt.”
Another woman in Deir al-Balah told Israeli news agency TPS-IL, “We clung to our destroyed homes and we clung to the soil of Palestine.” While voluntary emigration has been a subject of quiet discussion for years, Trump’s endorsement has transformed it into a highly contentious issue. Arab governments, concerned about appearing complicit in Palestinian displacement, have swiftly condemned it.
However, with Gaza in ruins and no reconstruction underway, the debate over emigration is no longer hypothetical. The question is not whether Gazans desire to leave, but whether they will have the opportunity.
A Gazan man interviewed on-camera by the Center for Peace Communications stated, “In the end, people will accept reality. They’ll emigrate because they want to live. They want to live in a country that protects and supports them. A country where you can hold your head up high. If our country isn’t looking out for us, where should we go?”
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this article.